The Mercenaries is a recurring minigame in Resident Evil 6. Unlike Resident Evil 4 and 5, the Mercenaries is unlocked by default.
As seen previously, the main purpose of Mercenaries again in Resident Evil 6 is to accumulate a high score within a limited time without dying. However, players can now equip skills to their advantage similar to The Mercenaries 3D.

The timer starts with two minutes (2:00). Multiple things can be done to add on to the timer, just as before. Time crystals make a return and must be smashed with some form of melee attack (they can also be slid into) to add time to the counter. Time crystals come in 30, 60 and 90 second varieties.

As with before, killing an enemy with a melee attack will add 5 seconds to the timer. Killing an enemy with a Coup de grâce will add 7 seconds to the timer. With the new counter mechanic, killing an enemy with a counter-attack will add 10 seconds to the timer instead. Killing multiple enemies with a single melee attack simply adds together the time gained for each kill.

Other mechanics of Mercenaries are the same. Points are awarded based upon the types of enemies that are killed. Killing multiple enemies in succession leads to a Combo which will add bonus points the higher the combo goes. A combo is lost if no enemy is attacked and killed within several seconds. As with Resident Evil 5, green combo crystals are present in levels and provide the same bonus - 1,000 points per combo kill (in addition to other points awarded). Combo crystals (replacing the chests from the previous games) can be smashed with a melee attack or shot to activate.

Yet again, each map is limited to 150 enemies it seems. Enemy spawns will be based upon the map that is chosen, as well. Certain enemies will only appear under certain conditions, however. For example, achieving a certain combo number or higher will cause a certain type of enemy to appear, or achieving a certain score, or other factors.

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The Mercenaries starts off with 3 playable characters which are Leon, Chris and Jake. The player can unlock a character by getting a B rank or over on a specific stage eg; beating Urban Chaos with any character and acquiring an A rank will unlock Helena. However, the player must finish Ada's campaign in order to unlock her in the Mercenaries.

Costume 1 is unlocked by obtaining an A Rank with that particular character on any map. Costume 2 is unlocked through RE.net with 60,000 RE Points and is identical to Costume 1 except for a different coloration. A third costume depicts each of the main seven characters in a "retro" polygon appearance; reappearing characters (Leon, Chris, Sherry, and Ada) have the same appearance as their earlier incarnations. These costumes are available on RE.net as a prize for certain Online Events, having the same weapons and items as Costume 1 and Costume 2.

No Mercy makes a return on the PC version of Resident Evil 6, the mode plays similarly to how it was in Resident Evil 5 but with some differences such as the ability to play the mode in coop, the amount of enemy kills being 300 as opposed to 400, enemies are also more aggressive and weaker compared to the basic Mercenaries. As a final note, items that normally do not spawn in the Mercenaries (such as Magnum or 12.7mm ammo) will spawn in No Mercy.

As an exclusive to No Mercy, Capcom and game developer Valve had teamed up to allow Left 4 Dead 2 content for No Mercy. The content includes the main cast from Left 4 Dead 2 being playable characters with their own loadouts alongside The Witch and The Tank replacing the Bloodshot and the Napad as enemies.